


Ten Years

by velocitygrass



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-09 04:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1968819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velocitygrass/pseuds/velocitygrass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been ten years, and John's plans for the future make John and Rodney reflect on their past—real and imagined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ten Years

**Author's Note:**

> McSheplets challenge #180: Ten Years. Written for the ten year anniversary of SGA.

Rodney found John on the east pier. He settled down next to him, eyeing the stash of beer cans and assorted snacks.

"Having a little party?" he joked.

John made a non-committal noise. Rodney raised an eyebrow. "It's been ten years," John said, looking at Rodney, then out at the see.

Woolsey was planning an official party for the ten year anniversary of setting foot on Atlantis. But that was still some time off. Either John was celebrating in advance or... "Oh," Rodney said. "Ten years since we met." He took a can of beer and some crackers, now that it seemed he was invited. Even if John hadn't bothered to actually tell him.

"Ten years since I learned about..." John gestured around them, presumably meaning stargates, life on other planets, and Atlantis.

Rodney stopped the can of beer at his mouth, eyes shifting to John.

"And ten years since I met... _Elizabeth and Carson_ ," John added.

Rodney smirked and took a sip. He _was_ invited.

~~

John expected Rodney to call him out on leaving him out when it was obvious that he was the most important person John had met that day. Instead, Rodney said, "Wow, ten years. You're getting old."

John snorted, coughing when some of the beer went down the wrong way. "You're not that much younger," he croaked, clearing his throat and taking a careful sip that eased down where it should.

"You're almost _fifty_ , whereas I'm in my mid-fourties. Huge difference," Rodney said.

"Uhuh," John indulged him with a smile. The truth was he _was_ feeling older. He sighed. "But the good thing about being old is retirement. A nice little house on a beach with good waves and a good selection of books and music."

Rodney laughed.

John wasn't sure what was so funny about that—except of course that it was probably the opposite of what Rodney would want for retirement, but then he wasn't going to join John.

Rodney's eyes widened suddenly. "Oh, god, you're serious."

"Yeah," John said.

"But..." Rodney began but didn't go on. He stared at John.

"You said it yourself. I'm almost fifty, and—"

"So am _I_ ," Rodney said vehemently. "We're not _old_."

John smiled. "No, we're not," he said. "We're two guys in our prime." Then he became serious. "But I'm getting too old for missions." He'd never been able to keep up with Ronon, but lately he felt exhausted doing what needed to be done in certain situations. He couldn't allow himself to become a liability to his team.

Rodney watched him seriously. "But a house on the beach? You wouldn't be the first commanding officer that stays on base."

John dropped his gaze. He'd considered that. But it wasn't for him. "You think if something happened to you or Teyla or Ronon, I could stay on base and send someone else?"

Rodney frowned but didn't say anything. After a moment, he asked, "So that's it? You're living out the rest of your years as a beach bum, alone?"

"I prefer surfer dude," John joked. More seriously, he added, "And yes, alone, unless... Well, you never know." He shrugged, sipping on his beer. Frankly, he thought that ship had sailed, but you never knew when you met someone, so he wasn't going to say it couldn't happen.

"If that fantasy beach of yours isn't deserted, you'll soon have women throwing themselves at you. You might be getting older, but..." Rodney gave John a slightly resentful once-over.

John smirked. "It would have to be a guy," he said. He hadn't been sure how and when to tell Rodney that he was going to leave Atlantis in the near future, and now that he'd done it, it was easy to come out as well—if that had actually been a secret. He wasn't entirely sure.

Rodney arched an eyebrow. "That explains quite a bit, actually," he eventually said.

"It does?" John asked.

"Your half-hearted attempts with women," Rodney said. "The undeniable sexual tension between us."

John spluttered. "The what?"

"I was seriously turned on when you created that light show in the chair. I wasn't sure if it was seeing such a strong gene in action," Rodney said thoughtfully. "Maybe I should have propositioned you after all."

"Rodney!" John stared at him. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Or would you have turned me down?" Rodney asked.

"Right then, probably not," John admitted.

"What does _that_ mean?" Rodney asked.

"Well, I was just some guy ferrying people around in Antarctica, and I didn't know you. It would have been..." John gestured vaguely with his hand.

"Oh, you never have sex with the same person twice?" Rodney guessed.

"No," John said. "But nobody cares about some Antarctica pilot bending some rules, not that there would have been a huge risk of being caught in the first place. It's different when you're commanding officer."

"Ah," Rodney said. "So having a torrid affair with me would have been too risky."

"Torrid affair," John mouthed and shook his head. "I'm not saying I wouldn't have risked it. But I would have thought about it first."

"Hmm," Rodney said.

"I didn't know you...with guys," John said.

"Well, not usually. But if the opportunity comes up and barring better alternatives, it certainly beats jerking off," Rodney said matter-of-factly.

"You _did_ find better alternatives," John pointed out, remembering Katie and Jennifer.

"And see how they ended," Rodney said bitterly.

"Sorry," John muttered. He'd thought that Rodney had long gotten over that, but apparently there was some lingering resentment.

"It wasn't your fault," Rodney said. "But looking at the outcome, I would have been better off with our torrid affair."

John snorted, but Rodney gave him an even look. John straightened, raising an eyebrow. Rodney couldn't be serious. "I know that the end of a relationship is never pleasant, but while it lasted, it was certainly better than exchanging handjobs in the closet now and then."

"Probably," Rodney conceded. "But it wouldn't have to be just handjobs. I mean, sure, we would have started out that way, but blowjobs are an obvious next step and after a few months, I imagine, I'd have suggested a bed if only to avoid the stress on my knees."

"The location wasn't my point," John said. Surely, Rodney had to see that a fuck buddy wasn't comparable to having a relationship. And even if the sex was great, emotional attachment added something that no amount of technique or passion could replace. Not that Rodney made it sound particularly passionate in the first place.

"We could have gotten there in ten years," Rodney insisted.

John gave him an incredulous look.

"Ten years," Rodney repeated.

"Certain things won't just happen even if you keep at them for ten years," John said.

"Ten years is plenty of time to learn what your partner likes in bed," Rodney said.

"Partner," John repeated. "When did we make the jump from someone who was better than your hand to a _partner_?"

"At some point in the last ten years," Rodney said.

"We didn't actually have an affair, torrid or not, and a partner... God, you identify as straight, Rodney!" John finished. This discussion was getting absurd.

"I identified as straight-ish, but I'm open to revising my stance on that," Rodney said.

"On account of..." John prompted.

"Our long-standing affair obviously," Rodney said. "We'd have started out as a convenient sexual relief, and as we moved on to more intimate sex and our friendship deepened, we realized that we were more than friends with benefits."

John noticed Rodney slipping into the past tense as if it were real. Giving up, John asked, "What happened then?"

"Well, it took us a while to realize the depth of our feelings, plus we're guys, so we just tried to pretend that nothing had changed," Rodney continued without missing a beat. "But then one day, when one of us nearly died, or one of us was kidnapped—"

John remembered Rodney's reaction to Larrin. "Or one of us flirted."

"No, that was _you_ , and I was furious every time, but refused to acknowledge what it said about my feelings for you," Rodney said.

John wasn't sure if they were still talking about their hypothetical affair. "You flirted with Norina," he said.

"And you tried to outflirt me," Rodney shot back.

"You dated Katie Brown and Jennifer," John said, knowing that they'd been replaced by John in Rodney's fantasy.

Rodney looked at him as if remembering reality. "No, I dated _you_ when we finally got over ourselves and admitted that we were..."

 _In love,_ John finished in his head. Except that none of that had happened. "So how long ago did it become serious?"

"When we were stuck on Earth. No matter what happened we decided to stay together. And then we went to see each other's families," Rodney said.

"Oh, really? How did that go?" John asked, imagining Rodney's blunt honesty clashing with his brother's insistence on keeping up appearance at all cost.

"Great," Rodney said. "My sister likes you. She was a bit surprised since this is my first serious relationship with a man, but she could see how much I love you, and she's happy—and of course a bit smug, but what do you expect?"

"And my brother?" John asked.

"He couldn't see my appeal initially, but when he watched us together, he realized that I make you happy, and that's all he ever wanted," Rodney said, sounding satisfied.

John smiled. He could actually see that. "Sounds like everything is perfect between us," he said.

"Until you dumped the news of retiring on me," Rodney said. "After you explained it, I could see that you couldn't stay on Atlantis, but a house on the beach in the middle of nowhere was unacceptable to me. I can easily work another twenty years if not more. I have offers from around the world, so we compromised on settling down somewhere near the coast _and_ near a suitable job for me even if it might not be a surfer's paradise. But we can go on vacations there."

"Rodney?" John asked.

"And then we live happily ever after," Rodney said, not meeting John's eyes.

"Rodney," John repeated. This had long stopped being a joke if it ever was one.

Rodney swallowed and turned to look at John.

"Rodney," John said again because he needed... _something_. Something that wasn't a fantasy scenario but reality.

"When did you plan on leaving Atlantis?" Rodney asked.

"Why?" John asked in return.

"Ten years is a lot to make up for, but if we—" That was as far as Rodney got, because John didn't need to hear more to lean forward and kiss him.

Rodney returned the kiss eagerly. A can dropped and rolled away. John didn't care. He deepened the kiss.

They kissed until they were out of breath and slowly parted, gazes locked.

"Torrid affair, huh?" John said, smiling.

"Let's skip the handjobs and blowjobs in closets," Rodney said.

"I'd kind of like to do it at least once," John admitted, kissing Rodney again.

Rodney arched an eyebrow. "We'll figure something out," he said.

"Yeah," John said. "Part of becoming partners and all that."

"I'm glad you finally see it my way," Rodney said smugly.

John laughed. "Happy anniversary."

Rodney leaned in to kiss him again.


End file.
